Smoothie King Plans Further Store Expansion in St. Louis

NEW ORLEANS, September 23, 2014 – Smoothie King Franchises, Inc., the leading smoothie franchise company with more than 700 stores worldwide, is experiencing serious growth in the St. Louis market with plans to continue expansion into 2015. Since 2012, the smoothie franchise has grown from three locations to 20 in 2014.

“Watching the number of stores in St. Louis skyrocket in the last few years has led us to a better understanding of our Midwestern customer. More than ever, St. Louisans are choosing healthier foods for their on-the-go lifestyles,” said Wan Kim, owner and CEO of Smoothie King. “By opening more stores in St. Louis, we are responding to a demand for more nutritious food at convenient locations.”

St. Louis has been a test market twice and many franchisees believe this honor has contributed to the excitement over the new stores in the region that offer products before they are available anywhere else. Local franchisees are also responding to demand for expansion based on the increase in guests choosing increasingly healthier meal options. Smoothie King expects to have at least six new store openings in St. Louis by the close of 2015 with several franchisees looking at multiple sites.

“We can really watch the anticipation for our expansion grow through social media,” said Jeremy Kubicek, St. Louis-based Franchisee of Smoothie King. "When we opened the store in Creve Coeur, Mo., our social media channels provided us with immediate positive feedback and reactions to the new location. St. Louisans have really helped to spread the word about Smoothie King and now we see larger groups of people asking for stores closer to them."

As Smoothie King continues growth in St. Louis, the franchisees proudly focus on the widely popular school program which provides a foundation for healthy eating in many of St. Louis’ largest school districts. Smoothie King is also proud to announce that it is now an official sponsor of the St. Louis Rams. In honor of this partnership, Smoothie King will partner with James “The Gladiator” Laurinatitis, Linebacker for the St. Louis Rams, to promote the $5.55 Gladiator smoothie special that will be sold during the 2014 season.

To find out more about new stores opening in and around St. Louis, visit SmoothieKing.com.

About Smoothie King Franchises Inc.

Smoothie King Franchises, Inc. is a privately held, New Orleans-area-based franchise company with more than 700 units worldwide. By creating each smoothie with a purpose, Smoothie King makes it simple and pleasurable for guests to achieve their individual health goals. The franchise also offers a number of healthy retail products, including sports beverages, energy bars, vitamin supplements and more.

Smoothie King was founded in 1973 by Steve Kuhnau, whose mission was to help others achieve better health in a tasty way. In 1989, Smoothie King became the first franchised smoothie bar/health food store in the U.S. and currently operates in 33 states, the Caymans, Singapore and the Republic of Korea. In 2014, Smoothie King was ranked No. 1 by Entrepreneur magazine in the juice bar category for the 20th year and No. 86 overall on the 2014 Franchise 500 list. In 2014, Smoothie King partnered with the New Orleans Pelicans to launch the Smoothie King Center, a multi-purpose indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. Visit www.smoothieking.com or www.smoothiekingfranchise.com; engage on Facebook www.facebook.com/SmoothieKing; follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/smoothieking.